When Leilani Farha visited the UK after the Grenfell Tower fire in 2017, she called it “a devastating illustration of the impact of substandard housing on the lives of poor people.”

This week, Farha, a lawyer by training, ends her six-year mandate as UN special rapporteur on the right to housing, throughout which she has highlighted the role of housing in making societies more unequal. As special rapporteur, her mandate has been to “examine, monitor, advise, and publicly report” on housing issues in UN member states.

Industry groups are calling for greater investment in social housing, fast-tracked infrastructure and incentives for home building after construction activity hit a new record low in April.

New orders, employment and average wages all plunged to record lows in the closely followed Australian Performance of Construction Index, contributing to the fastest one-month decline since records began in 2005.

Builders also reported supply chain delays, cost increases, and raw material shortages – with all industry sub-sectors suffering accelerated rates of contraction.

Victorian governments have sold off almost 600 hectares of surplus public land over the past two decades, according to new research which claims it could have been used to address the state’s public housing crisis.

The study comes as lord mayor Sally Capp, economist Saul Eslake, opposition housing spokesman Tim Smith, the Victorian Greens and the Victorian Council of Social Service call for new social housing to be built as part of Victoria’s economic response in the aftermath of COVID-19.

What is happening right now across Australia shows that rapid progress is possible, if the will is there, and if the work to understand the true nature of the problem has been done, writes David Pearson.

Amid all the uncertainty and despair in Australia at the moment, there are some bright spots.

One such spot is in Adelaide right now, as the COVID-19 pandemic is helping end rough sleeping homelessness.

In the days before the coronavirus shutdown took effect, a massive operation was underway in Australia’s capital cities — to get more than 7,000 homeless people off the streets and into rooms in hotels, motels and empty student accommodation.

People as young as 14 are sleeping rough in the Gold Coast suburb of Southport, according to a homeless support volunteer.

Volunteer Stella Tuteao provides essential items to those in need but said there was growing demand.

The Morrison Government is handing $25,000 cash grants to people to renovate their properties or build new homes under a new HomeBuilder scheme.

The scheme is designed to stimulate activity in the construction sector — one of the biggest employers in the country — but it comes with serious caveats.

The scheme cannot be used by anyone who’d just like to build a new patio, pool, tennis court or cheaply renovate their bathroom or kitchen.

Instead, to receive a $25,000 taxpayer-funded grant, you’ll need to use the money to build a new home (which can’t be worth more than $750,000, including land, on completion) or make expensive renovations to your existing home worth between a minimum $150,000 and a maximum $750,000.

And to qualify, you can’t be earning more than $125,000 a year as an individual or $200,000 as a couple.

With Australia’s remarkable success to date in limiting the health crisis caused by COVID-19, attention is turning to what a recovery from economic impact of the virus might look like.

One strong push is for a significant investment in social housing to help stimulate the economy.

Watch the RTA webinar: Overview of the COVID-19 Regulation to understand the key changes and legislative amendments for tenancies impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, as outlined in the Residential Tenancies and Rooming Accommodation (COVID-19 Emergency Response) Regulation 2020 and the Residential Tenancies Practice Guide released in April 2020.

The Queensland Government is focussed on keeping all Queenslanders healthy and safe during our response to the COVID-19 pandemic. This includes supporting our state’s most vulnerable and providing the funding, structure and support required for the housing and homelessness sector to respond.

As our partners, your ongoing work during this critical time is making a real difference to Queenslanders. The Department of Housing and Public Works appreciates you working with your regional contract officers and local networks to develop responses that meet the needs in your area. Please continue to stay in touch with your local contract officer, as your main contact during this time. The department will continue to provide email updates on how we are responding to COVID-19.